The night of 8th March will forever be memorable to the both us. Hang on, I don't mean it in that way. Just that Nim and I spent it watching a new generation of Malaysian politics unfold before our eyes. It was exciting, it was suspenseful, it was totally, totally new to us.
Throughout the night, frantic and excited phone calls were traded between us and friends - hard core Opposition followers Donovan (keeping track from the deejay console), Charles (glued to the TV) and Mike C (glued to the Malaysiakini.com website).
By the time we went to bed in the wee hours of the morning we knew that not only had the constituency of Seputih (under which Taman Desa resides) been retained under DAP with a whopping 36,000 margin, but Selangor, the Federal Territory and several northern states like Penang, Perak, Kedah and of course, Kelantan, were in Opposition hands. It was a slap in the face to the ruling coalition who never saw it coming. That says it all I guess - they simply weren't in tune with what Average Joe in the street was thinking.
Waking up the next day was like waking up on Christmas Day or greeting the morn in a new, exciting country. Although there weren't any victory parades, you could sense that many from the silent majority had made their feelings known. Next time it will be a real majority.
For once there's hope. For once there's more than a hint of glee in our voices as we chat over a hearty lunch, ironically being served by illegal foreigners somewhat oblivious to our merriment.
It's a brand new day in Near-Paradise. Because what we dreamed about is almost a reality. And maybe we're only 5 more years away from it.
